Space photograph,
Taken by NASA in 2020,
© Courtesy of NASA

Space photograph,
Taken by NASA in 2020,
© Courtesy of NASA

Gospel of 8 June 2023

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart,

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

Reflection on the NASA photograph

When the scribe asked Jesus in today’s Gospel reading which was the first of all the commandments, Jesus replied by giving him not just the first but the second commandment as well. For Jesus, these two commandments were intrinsically linked. In mentioning these two commandments, Jesus speaks of three loves, the love of God, the love of neighbour and the love of self. Three loves, very closely linked together. Inseparable. Yet, Jesus clearly declares that the first love in our lives is to be the love of God. From the love we hold for God, all other loves will flow.

We can love God, as we know that God loves us with all his heart. This realisation, that God loves us first, will enable us to love God back with all our heart.

And what better image to use to illustrate God’s love for our world than using a NASA photograph showing our beautiful planet, his greatest gift to us. The photo depicts the crystal blue waters around Cuba and the Bahamas. These NASA images reflect earth and the universe as the greatest work of art ever created... not by human hands, but by God.

Share this Gospel Reading

Did you like this Gospel reading and art reflection?

Join in the discussion about this artwork & Gospel reading

Subscribe
Notify of
7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Michael Trudeau
Member
Michael Trudeau(@michaeltrudeau)
3 months ago

For anyone interested, NASA provides an Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD). Here’s the link, https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html. I look at it daily as a reminder of how creative our Creator truly is.

Mark Crain
Member
Mark Crain(@mark_crain)
3 months ago

“You must love your neighbour as yourself.” This week I am having trouble with the “as yourself” part of that equation.

Chazbo M
Member
Chazbo M(@chazbo)
3 months ago

Last night we went to listen to Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto played by a Japanese pianist who had been blind from birth. He was led on by the conductor and played like an angel obviously without the music sheets in front of him. It was humanity at its very best; wonderful music, the kindness and symbiosis between conductor and pianist, the large number of London Japanese willing their compatriot on, the capacity audience loving the very familiar piece and everyone going home aglow! We can do it if we try!!!
Afterwards a Shostakovich symphony about the horrors of war. Also an importatnt lesson….

spaceforgrace
Member
spaceforgrace(@spaceforgrace)
3 months ago

‘From the love we hold for God, all other loves will flow.’ Beautifully said, Patrick.
The live feed from the space station is a wonderful watch sometimes too!

Jo Siedlecka
Member
Jo Siedlecka(@jo-siedlecka)
3 months ago

Incredible picture too.

Mike Baird
Member
Mike Baird(@mikeb)
3 months ago

Love God and love others. Here are the supreme marching orders for every Christian, marching orders for me. It’s that simple and that difficult. It defines what makes life worth living.

Moira Cunningham
Member
Moira Cunningham(@moira-cunningham)
3 months ago
Reply to  Mike Baird

Nothing more to add. Mike B sums it up beautifully for me. Thank you.

Readings related to Mark 12:28-34

10 June 2023

Mark 12:38-44

This poor widow has put in more than all

6 June 2023

Mark 12:13-17

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar 

12 March 2021

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus

9 June 2023

Mark 12:35-37

David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said

Join our community

In addition to receiving our Daily Gospel Reading and Art Reflection, signing up for a free membership allows you to: 

The mission of Christian Art is to offer a daily Gospel Reading paired with a related work of art and a short reflection. Our goal is to help people grow closer to God through the magnificent pairing of art and the Christian faith.

CONNECT WITH US

Join over 70,000 people who receive our daily Gospel Reading and Art Reflection

Skip to content